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Dad Punches Baby To Death, Family Says He Was Mentally Ill (Photos)

Authorities accuse a Minnesota father of beating his 4-month-old baby to death on Aug. 13.

Police say Cory Morris, 21, confessed to punching his daughter, Emersyn, many times while his girlfriend -- the child's mother, Jennifer Anderson -- was at work, WCCO reports.

"Family members have suggested there may be mental health issues here," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. "These will need to be evaluated during the course of this case."

Morris initially reportedly told police voices had told him to hurt the baby. He appeared to be without remorse, the Star Tribune reported.

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His mother says the family had spent the past year seeking mental health treatment beyond therapy for his severe depression and other issues.

Cory, she said, often responded by pushing them away. Other times, psychological providers simply had no room or bed to provide for the troubled young man.

"We never thought he would hurt the baby. We would never allow him to be with the baby if that was the case," Ginny Morris, his mother, said. "We were worried he was going to hurt himself, not the baby."

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Cory explained to police he was watching television when the baby began making loud noises, which irritated him.

After carrying the child away from the living room into her changing room, he lost his temper as the baby continued making loud noises.

To silence her, Morris proceeded to punch the baby multiple times with a closed fist.

“This poor baby, just four-months-old, died at the hands of her father, who has admitted to punching her 15 times with a closed fist, and hitting her seven times in the chest," Freeman said. "As a father and grandfather, such brutal actions are difficult for me to comprehend.”

After Morris realized what he had done, he called the child's mother and said he “was going to jail, because he did something to the baby."

"I lost the sweetest little girl the world has ever known," the mother later wrote on Facebook.

Morris has since been charged with second-degree murder and could face up to 40 years in jail if convicted.